Of lancastee



2 Sheets- Sheet 1.

(N0 Model.)

l G. & B.` ASHWORTH. `AlumnaxTUS POR HARDENING AND TBMPBRING WIREPoR-GARDS;

Pafcenued Jari.

a FIC,.I.

.Hameau/ng' 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

G. 8v E. ASHWORTH.

` APPARATUSFOB. HARDENING AND TBMEBRING WIRE POR CARDS.

Patented Jan. 17.1882.V

PUERS. Phewwhogmpher. walningmn, D. C.

`UNITED i STATES PATENT OEEICE.

GEORGE ASEwoRrH AND ELIJAH ASHWORTE, oE MANCHESTER, CoUNIuIr oE LANCASTER; ENGLAND.

f APPARATufs FoR HARDENING AND TEMPERING WIRE FCR CARDS.

' SPECIFICATION `running pam; ofLtters Patent No. 252,413, dated January I'r, 1882.

Application filed Decemher22, 1879. Patented in England September 5, 1878, and in Germany December 1,178.

` To all whom it may concern:

Be it known4 that we, GEORGE AsHWoRTH and ELIJAH ASHWOR'IH, both of 4Manchester, inthe county of Lancaster, in theKing domof Great Britain and Ireland, haveinf vented a new and useful-Improvement in Apparatus forl Hardening and Tempering Wire forCards 'and other ,Purposes (for-which we `have obtained British Patent No. 3,513, dated September 5, 1878, and German Patent No. 6,977, December 1,187 8,) of which the follow` ing is a specification. i

Our invention'relates principally to the treat` meutot' wire for wire cards employed in and ot' such cards.

, thensconducted to the drum upon which-'it is wound; butin order to make the coil rise upon the drum we put a tension on the wire, which may ueonveiliently be effected` by passing the Wire between rows of pinsor between frictionsurfaces. 1

" In the accompanying sheets of drawings, Figure l represents a plan of our improved apparatus. Fig. 2is an end View, partly in section.

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section ofpartof the apparatus, drawn to a larger scale; Fig. 4, an enlarged Sectional diagram. Figs.5 and 6 illustrate a modification in-the form of burner em -ployetL Fig. 7 is a perspective View of the apparatus with the driving appliances ref moved; Fig. 8, a similar perspective view of partof Fig. i with the chimney ,removed; Fig. 9, an enlarged perspective view of the chimney idetached.

In the-drawings, AA is aframin g, which carries the various parts of the apparatus-` Upon this framing `are mounted reels, upon which the wire to be hardened is Supplied tothe macircles# rI he wire c is led from the reel partly around a carrier-pulley, d, at one end of the machine, andpasses in a straight line'through'.

the hardening and tempering parts of the apl para-tus. Below the wire are fixed two gasburners, F and G.- In the example these gasburners consist of tubes which are perforated on their upper sides, andv are supplied with gas by means of's'uitable connectingapipes, (indicated by h h.) 6o

Anyform of burner which' will furnish suf ticient flame may be used.

The flame of the burner F or of each burner is protected by means of a sheet-metal shield or ehimney,.i, which acts in a similar manner 65 to the glass chimney of a lamp by shielding the flame from drafts, thereby steadying it. The shield forms a long narrow chimney, openV at the top and bottom. y

The form and arrangement of theV shield or 7o chimney for steadying the flame may be varied as found to` be most suitable; or, it'. not considered to be necessary, theshield or Shields may be dispensed with but we prefertomake itof the form more fully illustrated in Fig..

9`that is, of two sheetrnetal plates arranged at an angle to each other, connected at-the top and ends by strips, and provided with handles i', and a peep-hole, c2.

The wire passes through eyes -in guides k, Bo' which steady the Wire and keep` itin astraight line'. The wire passes immediately from the flame of F through a perforation in a vertical plate, l, whichguides the Wire and atthe same time shields the cistern H fromy the heat to tern H are shown in section larger than the full size ot' the parts in the apparatus we have constructed; The distance of the plate lfrom the end of the cisternis such as that there is just-about enough space for the downward How of the oil.' The plate lshields the cistern from the heat ot' the dame, and the ow ot' oilteuds to prevent the overheating ot' the plate. By these means the cistern is broughtclose to the end of the line of dame, so that the heated wires pass directly and instantaneously from the tiame into the oil without being exposed tothe air in the transition. This is very important, as the line wires could not be hardened if the transition were not instantaneous. It will be seen that the heated wiresenter the oil owiug through the space between the cistern an-d the plate l before actually entering the cistern.

l We may dispense with the cistern and'cause the wire to pass directly from the flame into a -falling or flowing stream of oil or liquid.

The burner G is used to temper the wires. It is desirable lto be able to regulate thelengthofthe line of flame of this burner. loshorten the flame we insert pins, plugs, or stoppers into some of the perforations in the burner, leaving only as many open as may be required. This-method of `regulating the length of the line of liame may be varied-as, t'or example, the perforations may be divided into groups, each separately supplied through a stop-cock. The flame F may also be made adjustable in length. The wires now hardened and tempered are wound upon drums. One drum, I, is shown in the drawings. The other drums would be mounted upon the part ot' the framing which is supposed to be broken oft' in the drawings. These drums are fixed upon vertical shafts which receive motion from a horizontal shaft, p, through the pulleys and cords rr, Figs. l and 2. The shattp receives motion from a suitable driving-shaft through a pair ot' cone strap pulleys.

The cone on the shattp is marked s. This cone is loosely mounted on-the shaft, and gives motion to itthrough a clutch, t, which can be quickly thrown into and out of gear by means ofa lever, u, which is operated'from the front of the machine to stop or start the drums.

The speed of traverse ot' the wires is regulated by means of the said cone-pulleys. A frictiondisk and sliding pinion or plain cone-'drums or other equivalent means may be employed for the same purpose. The operation requires to be conducted with-a careful regulation of the action ot' the apparatus; and as the effect ot' the hardening and tempering processesk may be governed to a great extent by varying the speed of 'traverse ofthe wire, wey employ the said cone-drums or equivalent devices.

To make the coils rise properly upon the drums a tension is put upon the wires. To

eEt'ect this we pass eachfwire through a friction-clamp, e, Fig. 1, consisting of a pair ot' plates or friction-blocks, which are pressed together by means oi' aclamping-screw or ot' a spring. Other means may be employedas, forl example, the wire may be drawn between two rows ot pins. rlhe oil, water, or hardening duid flowing from the cistern falls into la receiver, w, whence it is conveyed by a pipe, Fig. to a suitable cisternVThe fluid is returned to the elevated supply-'cistern by means of a pump, or is otherwise returned in any suitable manner.

Although we prefer the wire to pass in a straight line through the cistern, it might pass over the edge ot the cistern'and be deflected downward into it, the cistern being kept quite full of oil; but we do not believe that an equally good result could thereby'be obtained. The tlame of the burnerG is so regulated as -to just render the wire capable ot' being b ent in the machine without softening it more than is required for such bending.

We may arrange the burner G in a separate framing, so that the burning or temperingwill become a second operation.

In the hardening of wire we may employ aV liot smokeless flame, such as is producedl bya Bunsen burner-as, for example, a row of burners on the Bunsen principle lnay be ar-- gas blow-pipes. a Figs. 6 and 7 illustrate an.

arrangement for this purpose wherein ajet ot' hot or cold air is injected into the center ot' each jet of gas. Any suitable kind of gas may be used, and the ame ot' burning oil or gas produced in the apparatus may be used in lieu of the gas conveyed in pipes to the apparatus.

We wish it to be understood that the cardtooth produced from the hardened and tempered wire above described forms no part of this case, but may form the subject of a separate application.

Apparatus constructed substantially as indicated may be employed in the treatment ot' wire which d:is to be used in the manufacture of wire brushes or for -other useful purposes. Y

We claim as our inventionl. A wire hardening and tempering apparatus having the following elements.: a gasburner, F, for heating the wire, a gasburner, G, for annealing the wire, an intermediate tank containing hardening-liquid, andv drums for IIO IIS

252,413 A y I a drawing' the wire through the two gas-dames Inv testimony whereof we have signed our and the intermediate tank, al1 substantiallyas names to this specification in the presence of described. two subscribin g Witnesses. 2.y The combination of the burner. F and 5 guidesc with shield i, as set forth. l GEO. ASHWORTH.

\ 3. The within-described wire hardening and l ELIJAH ASHWORTH.

tempering apparatus, consisting ofthe burners v .i

Fand G, oistern H, perforated at both ends, Witnesses: l gnidesk, plate i, and drums I, all substantially EDWARD K. BUTTON, 1o as set forth. DAVID FULTON. 

